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Dewey Finn
Dewey Finn is a down-on-his-luck, energetic, 30-year old, wannabe rock superstar who at the very start of the film is kicked out of his own band''' 'No Vacancy'''' due to his antics such as constant 20 minute solos and stage diving. Role in the movie Sometime before the events of the move he helped form the band 'No Vacancy' where he was a guitar player, but due to his constant 20 minute guitar solos and stage diving one of which rendered him unconscious, he was kicked out. Dewey is unemployed but is forced to try and find a job after Ned and his girlfriend,Patty, threaten to kick him out of their apartment as Dewey won’t pay his share of the rent. In the film Dewey gets a job as a substitute teacher for Horace Green Prep School by pretending to be his friend Ned Schneebly. When walking past the class' music class in his spare time, he discovers the students are musically talented and decides to make them into a rock band and compete in the Battle of the Bands and get revenge on his old band. He manages to get the class to go along with the idea by telling them that it is a school project and if they keep it secret from the other staff, they can start before the others. Dewey and the class manage to keep their band practices secret from the rest of the school by blacking out windows, sound-proofing the classroom and placing cameras to watch the hallways. When Mullins comes in to sit in Dewey made a song about math. He is eventually exposed as a fake and is such mistaken to be a pervert at Parent's Night at the school after Ned is forced by Patty to call the cops, but he runs away and the next day he is convinced to go with the kids and play at the Battle of the Bands. They lose the cash prize to his old band No Vacancy, but the crowd loves them more and calls for them to come back on stage while booing No Vacancy. Later, he forms his own after-school program for the kids and thanks to Battle of the Bands they have a lot of potential gigs and record offers that Summer made the deals on her cell. Musical Influences and impact on his students Most obviously, Dewey Finn is influenced by hard rock and heavy metal; ost notably bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Motörhead, all of whom none of the class knew prior to forming the band, much to Dewey's frustration. He is also a fan of guitarist Jimi Hendrix and claims in the film when on the phone presumably to a music store trying to sell one of his guitars for money to pay flatmate, Ned and his strict girlfriend, Patty his share of the rent, that the guitar in question Hendrix once played. At the parents evening, Dewey described Zack as the next Hendrix. When introducing Zack to the electric guitar, which the latter had never played before on account of his dad's views on the instruments as being a waste of time, Dewey showed him how to play the opening riffs to songs such as Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" and AC/DC's "Highway To Hell". During the end credits, Dewey also performed AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna' Rock 'N Roll)". In addition to hard rock and heavy metal bands, Dewey appears to also be a fan of new wave band, Blondie and progressive rock acts, Rush, Yes and Pink Floyd. Dewey gives his students and members of the School of Rock, CDs from his collection to listen to for homework, giving an unknown student (though possibly Katie) Led Zeppelin's debut self-titled album, Martha, Blondie's "Parallel Lines", Lawrence, Yes' "Fragile" (telling him to especially listen to the keyboard solo on "Roundabout", which may have possibly inspired Lawrence's improvised solo on "It's A Long Way To The Top (if You Wanna' Rock 'N Roll)"), Freddie, Rush's "2112" (describing the band's drummer, Neil Peart as one of the greatest drummers of all time), Zack, The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Axis: Bold as Love" and Tomika's Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" (telling her to especially listen to the vocal solo on "The Great Gig In The Sky", which may have possibly inspired her own vocal solo in "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna' Rock 'N Roll)"). Dewey also introduced his students to punk rock, inspiring them to later "stick it to the man" by running away from the school to play Battle of the Bands. Dewey developed Freddie's influence in punk, introducing the latter to punk acts such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, the Ramones and the Buzzcocks (all mentioned on the board and slide projector). Judging by Freddie's later change in fashion to a new punk rock look it's possible that the latter developed a fondness for Pistols drummer Paul Cook, having taken on a similar image to the latter. After losing Battle of the Bands, Freddie reminded Dewey that the "Sex Pistols never won anything" and yet they were still one of the most successful punk bands (and bands in general) of all time. Dewey also introduced Freddie to drummers such as Keith Moon from The Who, jazz drummer, Jo Jones. Category:Characters